Financial institutions such as banks offer a variety of lending products to meet the varying needs of their customers. For example, a financial institution may offer a diverse range of personal lending products including personal loans or lines of credit, secured loans or lines of credit (e.g., secured by a certificate of deposit (CD) or savings account), secured credit cards, student credit cards and overdraft privilege (ODP) loans. Each of these various products may address a particular type of financial need or goal. For example, a personal loan with a fixed annual percentage rate and monthly payment may allow a customer to consolidate and pay down existing high-interest rate debt with reduced interest costs, while a personal line of credit with payments based on an outstanding balance may provide a revolving line of credit that may be used as a source of funds for managing major or unplanned expenses such as home furnishings or medical expenses. Similarly, secured loans and lines of credit may provide an alternative option for customers without an established credit history, or for customers seeking lower annual percentage interest rates or higher borrowing limits.
Given the varying features and objectives of each of these lending products, the requirements, borrowing limits and other terms and conditions for each of these products may vary significantly. For example, secured loans and lines of credit typically require that the customer have an existing CD or savings account with the financial institution that may be used as collateral, while personal loans and lines of credit typically do not have such requirements. Secured loans and lines of credit may, however, provide a higher borrowing limit or lower interest rate than personal loans and lines of credit, and secured lines of credit may have higher minimum borrowing requirements than personal lines of credit. Additional terms and conditions may apply if the customer requires card access to funds.
Customers must often select and apply for a particular lending product without fully understanding whether that particular product is a viable option based on the customer's creditworthiness and desired amount of funding. That is, even if a customer's application for a particular lending product, such as a personal loan, is approved by the financial institution, the customer may not qualify for the either entire amount of funding or the pricing he or she is seeking. The customer would then need to repeat the application process for a different lending product, such as a secured loan, in order to be considered for a larger amount of funding.
Furthermore, while a typical financial institution may offer a wide range of lending products, the particular combination of features included in these lending products may not be the optimum solution to a particular customer's needs. Accordingly, a customer may be required to sacrifice desired features in order to obtain the desired pricing and payment terms and vice versa. There is an ongoing need for improved systems and methods to allow financial institutions to provide lending products that meet the varying needs of their customers.